Anyone who’s been to any kind of massive music festival like CMW, NXNE or SXSW knows that it’s rare to have an evening where every band you see is certifiably great. Tonight was one of those rarities for me.
Subjectivity being what it is, you may disagree with my assessments when you check out the following bands for yourself. In my defense, I will only say this: (a) there was no alcohol involved the entire night; and (b) maybe you just had to be there.
Chimes & Bells
Led by a stunningly gorgeous woman named Cacelle Trier, this Danish band’s name belies the aggressiveness of their music. They played a dinner hour set crammed into the corner of a tiny bar, playing loud enough to rattle that bottle of Japanese whiskey on the shelf. There’s a good chance that they’ll end up playing CMW in Toronto next month, so if you get a chance, they’re definitely worth a listen.
Phone Joan
To be honest, the only reason I even had them on my radar was because they sent out invitations to journalists ahead of the festival. They were on nice and early—9:30—so I thought they would make for a good warm-up for the rest of the evening. The by:Larm program described them as being influenced by Canada’s Black Mountain—whom I like very much—so I figured how bad could it be? Thirty minutes later, they were my favourite band of the festival. They come off like a sexier, more threatening version of the Dead Weather underlaid with dirty, overdriven bass lines. Solid. I meet them for drinks later and I’ve going to pass around some demos to my label friends. Listen for them to come up in a future EM podcast.
Purified in Blood
Spoiler: NOT a death metal band! Instead, these guys crank out some seriously tight post-hardcore thrash. The fact that they played in a bar with a capacity of maybe 75 people on a stage just 18 inches off the ground only made them more fierce. GodDAMN they were good.
Efterklang
This band has already won all kinds of praise at home in Denmark but they deserve a wider audience. Think of a more poppy Arcade Fire minus the histrionics. The seven members of the band set up in a wonderfully asymmetrical way onstage (the drummer to extreme stage right facing in towards the centre, a guitar playing sitting on a stool in the background stage left and a keyboardist/sample scientist slightly back of centre stage) and had the crowd singing along after just two songs.
Johann Johannsson
Finally! Some neo-classical music that speaks to me! I discovered this Icelandic dude a couple of years ago when he released an electronica based on the owners manual of an IBM mainsframe computer from the 1960s. (I did NOT make that up!) He’s since moved deeper into the realm of classical(ish) music, appearing onstage with a string quartet (including a sexy cello player) and a scientist-looking Mission Control-type boffin at a table twidding a MacBook Pro attached to a patch cord pay that looked like something from a 1970s synthesizer. Johaannsson—big, bald and totally silent—led the ensemble through some of the prettiest music I’ve heard in long time. The entire 43- minute performance went by without anyone onstage uttering a word. Mezmorising.
Donkeyboy
I had some time to kill before the last band of the night, so I wandered over to a venue called Rockefeller where I first thought I had stumbled upon a solo show by Jon (Yes) Anderson. Donkeyboy’s singer may have a high register, but it’s in no way grating or annoying. Instead, the crowed was treated to some of the most infectiously melodic music I heard all week, delivered with just the right amount of whimsy. They’re definitely 80s-influenced—A-ha has a lot to answer for—but without the dated DX-7 keyboard sounds or those ludicrous Linn drums.
Bjorn Hellfuck
Honestly? I just went because of the name. Try to imagine this: five guys, all in masks and weird costumes that could easily open for Gogol Bordello (they even have an accordion player). From their bio: “[Hellfuck] has experienced steadily increating attention around his subtle views on relationships and genetalia…[He] stays away from the art of innuendo and has created his own niche: humourous sexology-rock.” Since the entire performance was in Norwegian, we’ll just have to go on good faith.
